About Dorothy Chen
Dorothy Chen Yamamoto took a non-linear route to law. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a B.A. in English Language and Literature in 2010. She then moved on to law school at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, where she finished her J.D. in 2015.
After law school she entered private practice and appellate work. In 2014 she served as student counsel for the Hastings Appellate Project while still a law student. Her first post-graduate role listed is as an associate at Finnegan Marks Theofel & Desmond in 2015. She spent the next several years in associate positions at Michael Sullivan & Associates LLP in 2018 and Dhillon Law Group Inc. in 2019, gaining trial and appellate exposure along the way.
Her admission to multiple jurisdictions shapes the kinds of matters she handles. She is admitted in California and Arizona, and she holds admission to the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Central Districts of California. Those credentials have allowed her to work on federal cases and matters that proceed through the federal appellate system.
Yamamoto combined practice and teaching early in her career. She served as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2017, returning to campus experience she first gained as a student counsel. In 2010 she worked in the UC Berkeley library system as an electronic resources assistant, an early job that contributed to her research skills and facility with legal databases.
Since 2020 she has been a partner at Michael Yamamoto LLP, a role that followed several years of associate-level practice. That year also marks her move into firm leadership and more sustained courtroom work. Her practice draws on appellate experience and federal-court admissions, and she appears in matters that range from district court litigation to appellate filings. She holds a membership in the Arizona State Bar since 2023 and maintains professional ties to the California legal community. She now practices at Michael Yamamoto LLP, where her work centers on appellate and federal litigation.
